I Mustache you a Question

"Teachers ask between 300-400 questions a day!" Wow thats a lot! The questions we ask are important for both the teacher and the student. For this weeks readying I found out just how important questions are and how we can most effectively direct our questions.

So why do teachers annoy their students in class so much and ask them so many questions? The teacher might be checking for understanding of the topic or getting the students to define a relationship between concepts. Teachers also are working to develop critical thinking skills and a desire or motivation to learn.

There are two different types of questions that can be asked to students, low and high level questions. High level questions require more critical thinking and might take the students longer to answer. These could check understanding of the whole lesson or major concepts. A low level question on the other hand might be easier for the students to answer, like giving an example of something. There are also open and closed questions. An open ended question could ask for an example of something or an opinion while a closed is something concrete and learned, like a process. Teachers should switch up the questions they ask depending on the lesson and what the students are learning.

To maximize student participation there are certain things we can do when asking questions. We can call out a students name after the question is asked. This way the whole class heard the question and is thinking about the answer but you are asking that one student to answer. By asking a general question to the whole class instead of singling out certain people you are encouraging the whole class to participate. There are several other things as teachers we can do like not asking all questions at the end of class, giving students the opportunity to ask questions, be careful not to look at your notes to much while the students are answering.

The teacher should give the student five to seven seconds to think about the question that was asked and how to let them answer it. This is knows as wait time. Of course a higher lever question will require a longer wait time then a lower level question.

There are several things a teacher can do depending on the response that was given. The teacher can give reinforcement for good answers, probe for a further answer, adjust or reinstate the question if students are confused, and redirect the question to another student.

Wouldn't it be nice if every class we had all our students raising their hands dying to answer the questions we ask!

Designing an Interesting Interest Approach

How do we get students excited about a unit or a lesson? Students must have the need to want to learn about the topic you are teaching to really engage in the lesson. Lets call this an interest approach. A five to ten minute engaging activity or demonstration that gets students curios about the lesson and excited to learn more. This week in lab was all about creating that exciting interest approach that you can use to kick off a lesson!

I chose to do my interest approach for a wildlife, fishery, and forestry science class. The class is for tenth and eleventh grade students. I will be teaching a unit on fish in Pennsylvania. Along with this we will be studying habitats and human impact. My interest approach was focused on this. I completed a simple demonstration for the students to show an example of a fish habitat and the impact humans can have on streams.

The class started off with bell work to review the lesson from the day before. Next I asked the students to quietly come to the front of the class. I had a container full of water with rocks in the bottom to simulate a clear stream. The students were asked to write on a piece of paper observations from the stream. Next I added sand to the stream. Again I asked the students to make observations on the stream and write them down on their paper. They were told to also consider the animals living in the habitat. Using straws I blew into the water to show the movement and amount of oxygen in the water. Following the same process I then added silt.

Overall this was a simple demonstration that had a big meaning. The student's were able to see what was happening and make observations on their own. Depending on the class I could modify this to have helpers and get the students more involved or have more of a discussion while the students are out of their seats. I also got the feedback from my peers that this could be used as a group experiment the students could preform, which is a great idea! I think the lesson went pretty good. I felt comfortable with what I was teaching and I got the students up and interested in the lesson. One thing I would improve would be getting the student's more involved in the lesson but I was a little intimidated they would mess up the demonstration. Suggestions are welcome on how to correctly facilitate the situation by getting the students as involved as possible and have the demonstration be a valuable learning experience.

If anyone is also teaching on fish habitats or needs a cool project here is video on making fish habitats and spawning ponds.

1st Day Jitters

Oh boy! Twenty five high school students just walked into the classroom shouting, running, tackling each other. Not one of them has a pencil, paper, or even a backpack. Instead of taking their seats they continue to talk to one another and move about the classroom saying hi to friends. The bell rings and there are not nearly enough students in the classroom. Students continue to trickle in loudly as the teacher is trying to begin the lesson. Two minutes into class five students already ask to use the bathroom. As you can guess it's the first day back to school and the first day for a new teacher! 

This can be a tough day for students and teachers because the teacher doesn't know the students and the student's are still in summer mode and ready for school. For our first lab we had to design a lesson that would help to take some of the stress away from the first day teaching! 

Step 1-Get the students in the room and get them doing something other then talking!

Bell work is a great way to get student's started on the class and keep students in order. Since it is the first day I had students write down on a notecard some important information that I might need as a teacher, and also a few things about the class. 

Step 2- Get the student's engaging with each other and also getting to know the teacher!

example

After introducing myself as the teacher I had the students do an engaging activity I like to call full card person bingo. The students are given a bingo card that has short descriptions in each block. They must move around the room, meet each other, and sign one of the blocks on a classmates card. Some of the blocks can say fun things like enjoys camping or rides horses, while others can have meaning to the teacher about the students learning like is good at math or likes reading. Getting everyone a little more interested in the class the teacher can jump back to the bell work and talk about what students want to learn and why the class is important. 

Step 3- A successful classroom needs structure! 

By having expectations, procedures, and consequences students will know how they are to act in your class and what they shouldn't do. By outlining this at the beginning the school year, students know what is expected of them. While I realize this will not make classroom management a walk in the park hopefully it will help a little. These will be outlined in posters and hung on the wall so that every time students walk into my class they are reminded of the rules set forth in my classroom. I will also have a mailbox system set up for the students so that I can return papers quickly during class. 

Step 4- Get the parents involved! 

Start the contact off on the right foot with the parents by sending information home. I think it is important to send home the expectations and procedures or a letter home to the parents explaining what you expect from students in your class. Hopefully this letter makes it home to the parents and doesn't become part of a science project in their locker. Being an ag ed teacher its really important to have the parents support of the program because of all the extracurricular activities their kids could partake in and this is a great starting point. 

Reality Check! The first day or week or month isn't going to be easy. But the labs and class this semester will help prepare to be successful and we will figure what they can't teach us on our own! 

Roadmap to Successful Objectives

Just as teachers need to use objectives to plan a unit or lesson, students need objectives stated at the beginning of class to provide clarity and reasoning before every lesson. Jumping right into a lesson can cause students to take a wrong turn and loose the "big picture" benefits of the lesson. But if the teacher just writes on the board or states three things the students should be able to follow the rules of the road and understand the lesson and its connections to the overall unit and class.



As teachers, objectives help us to plan a lesson or unit. All good directions start with the location you are leaving from. The objectives are the starting point. From formulating good, clear objectives we are able to process thoughts and make the beginning steps of content sequencing and instructional evaluation.



Clear objectives fall into the three domains of learning; cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Cognitive being facts, knowledge, basic content of the lesson. Psychomotor uses cognitive skills and motor skills to activities. Thinking of these two together my brain is shouting,"this is why agricultural education rules!" Last affective or the students emotions and values to the lesson or learning occurring.

Ok so for this to work teachers need major clarity when talking to students. A map that isn't clear for everyone to read means nothing just like unclear objectives will only be understood by half the class. One way to do this is to use action verbs that students can clearly understand how to achieve the objective. Words like explain, describe, select, compare, are good verbs to use. Steer clear of vague verbs like know, list, and cover.

Objectives also serve as a guide when deciding upon evaluation of instruction. The questions, exam, or final project students are given should all be answered within the objectives. A clear, detailed map will lead the driver to the correct location, like wise good concise directions and plans will lead students to the finish line.

How do Learners Learn?

Teacher's often wonder if they are reaching their students. Is that student just sitting in class or actually learning? Why are all students not engaging in the class?

Maybe those students are not engaging because they learn in a different way then the teacher is teaching. Maybe as a teacher we can do more to engage them and get them involved in the class. Howard Gardner wrote a book called Frames of the Mind. In his book he views intelligence as "the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural settings." 

To better understand our learners we can study Gardners 8 Multiple Intelligences which refers to the way students prefer to give back information. Keep in mind this is different then a students learning style.

1. Spatial 

2. Kinesthetic (body smart)

3. Musical (music smart)

4. Interpersonal (people smart)

5. Intrapersonal (self smart)

6. Naturalist (nature smart)

7. Verbal Linguistic (word smart)
8. Logical Mathmatical (number smart)

It's important to always keep the students best interest in mind. As teachers we want students to be excited about our class, we want them engaging, and we want them to walk away with something that will help them be successful. The scary part is that standarized tests measure less then half of these multiple intelligences. Are we really getting a good representation then of what students are learning in class? It's interesting to compare a state standardized test system with a core class and then an agriculture class. I believe that Agricultural Education puts more emphasis on these intelligences then one might think. Through an ag program we are able to challenge students through hands on, experiential education. 

Effective Teaching is Not a One Size Fits All T-Shirt

The first week of classes are over and now it's time to dive in head first! Teachers are life long learners and are constantly looking for ways to better the content knowledge they are teaching but also their own personal teaching skills. To become the best teacher I can be, I must be effective in that I am reaching my students and that they are always engaged and learning in class. Effective teaching is not easy; or as the video says a "one size fits all t-shirt." Here are some thoughts after some effective teaching research:

To be effective, teachers must be experts in their subject. This allows for organized and structured lessons. Newcomb, McCacken, and Warmbrod write in a article featured below that "students should be able to identify the purpose and direction from each lesson and the desired outcomes to be learned. This provided clarity for both the teacher and the students. Effective teachers have pedagogical content knowledge and know how their students will learn and the mistakes they will make. Effective teachers use evaluation techniques to reflect upon lessons and their direct correlation to student learning.

Critical thinking can be used to analyze your own teaching practices as well as how the students perceive the lesson. "Research indicates that teachers that are confident and persistent will produce students who will achieve at high levels too." Students are motivated to learn by enthusiastic teachers. Reflection is important as a teacher, both internally and externally. Teachers must always be analyzing themselves and their own goals.

As life long learners, teachers should be constantly taking classes and staying up to date with workshops, books, and media. The ability for teachers to use computers and the internet in the classroom can be beneficial. It can grasp the students attention, work well for visual learners, and help with research. "The only limitation you place on yourself and those you allow other people to place on you." (Basic Understanding) Professional organizations, communities of practice, and conferences can be a great way to continue ones education and not fall into a rut of using the same lessons without analyzation. 

To go along with my readings this week I found a youtube video that I think really puts some of the main characteristics of a effective teacher into perspective as I have shared above. Over all enthusiasm is always important to be successful! As teachers our job is never easy. Just remember "You are the only person on the face of the earth who can use your abilities. It's an awesome responsibility."





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